Of Mice and Men – Background Information
Westering Movement:
Reasons to Go West:
1. Religious Meaning -
2. Mobility (wandering and rootlessness) -
3. Escape from Personal History -
4. Prevalence of Risk-Taking, Danger, Violence -
5. Pursuit of the New Eden -
Background Vocabulary
itinerant – adj. traveling from place to place to perform work or a duty; n. a person who travels from place to place to perform work or a duty
transient - adj. passing with time, remaining in a place only for a brief time; n. a person who remains in a place only for a brief time
tramp -
bindle (bindle stiff) -
Dust Bowl –
Depression –
A little Slang…
jack - hoosegow - booby hatch –
Of Mice and Men – Background Information
Westering Movement: People move West to escape urban life.
Reasons to Go West:
1. Religious Meaning – something “spiritual” in the untouched landscapes
2. Mobility (wandering and rootlessness) – nomadic people in search of jobs, instant gratification in the form of money/wealth
3. Escape from Personal History – one could escape debts, oppression, scandal, relationships gone bad, burdensome responsibilities, arrest, etc.
4. Prevalence of Risk-Taking, Danger, Violence – danger in working with horses, machinery; life is not sacred – human beings = animals
5. Pursuit of the New Eden – beautiful land to be had; streets paved with gold –Golden Age; land of opportunity, milk and honey, etc.
Background Vocabulary
itinerant – adj. traveling from place to place to perform work or a duty; n. a person who travels from place to place to perform work or a duty
transient - adj. passing with time, remaining in a place only for a brief time; n. a person who remains in a place only for a brief time
tramp – homeless MEN (no children or women); move alone from one odd job to the next; they are just getting by; included social rejects
bindle (bindle stiff) – a blanket roll or a pack of personal belongings; bindle stiff –slang term for the actual person – the itinerant worker
Dust Bowl – a region in the southern plains renamed “the dust bowl” because of the eight year drought it experienced from 1931-39; overplowing / overgrazing and drought led to dust storms
Depression – severe economic slump from 1929-1939; began in US and spread to rest of North America, Europe, and other industrialized nations
jack - money hoosegow - jail booby hatch – insane asylum